PoliticsYahoo NewsBiden, facing backlash over reopening shelter for migrant children, is left with few options
When the Biden administration began transporting migrant children to a Trump-era emergency influx shelter in Texas this week, it faced fierce criticism from some on the left, particularly Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who tweeted: “This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay — no matter the administration or party.” “From our perspective, influx facilities are certainly not ideal, but it is so much better than a child sitting in a camp in Matamoros or a child being cramped in a Border Patrol facility,” said Jennifer Podkul, vice president of policy and advocacy at Kids in Need of Defense, a pro bono legal service provider for migrant and refugee children.
WorldBBCNigeria kidnappings: Hunt for 300 girls as second abducted school group freed
Police in Nigeria have launched a search and rescue operation for 317 girls kidnapped from a school in the state of Zamfara. The operation comes as 42 people kidnapped from a boarding school in a similar incident last week in Niger state were released. President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the latest kidnapping as "inhumane and totally unacceptable".
WorldReutersDozens of leading Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners charged with subversion
Forty-seven Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners and activists were charged on Sunday with conspiracy to commit subversion in the largest single crackdown on the opposition under a China-imposed national security law. Among them was Sam Cheung, a 27-year-old activist and a participant in an unofficial primary election last summer, who was charged after reporting to a local police station. "Hong Kongers have a really tough time these days," he told reporters before entering the station.
U.S.Associated Press10 death row inmates in Oklahoma could get new trials
As many as 10 death row inmates in Oklahoma, more than one-fifth of the state's prisoners condemned to die, could escape execution because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country. The inmates have challenged their convictions in state court following the high court's ruling last year, dubbed the McGirt decision, that determined a large swath of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation. The decision means that Oklahoma prosecutors lack the authority to pursue criminal charges in cases in which the defendants, or the victims, are tribal citizens.
PoliticsAxiosRepublican Sen. Sasse slams Nebraska GOP for "weird worship" of Trump after state party rebuke
The Nebraska Republican Party on Saturday formally "rebuked" Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) for his vote to impeach former President Trump earlier this year, though it stopped short of a formal censure, CNN reports. Why it matters: Sasse is the latest among a slate of Republicans who have faced some sort of punishment from their state party apparatus after voting to impeach the former president. The bottom line: "Senator Sasse's condemnation of President Trump and his support for President Trump's impeachment have been liberally used multiple times by Democrats as justification for a truncated impeachment process that denied the President due process," said the resolution, according to CNN.
WorldBBCJamal Khashoggi: US says Saudi prince approved Khashoggi killing
A US intelligence report has found that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the murder of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The report released by the Biden administration says the prince approved a plan to either "capture or kill" Khashoggi. Saudi Arabia rejected the report, calling it "negative, false and unacceptable".
BusinessReutersStock gains power higher Berkshire profit, Buffett presses on with stock buybacks
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Saturday said stock market gains fueled a record quarterly profit, while the billionaire signaled investors are undervaluing his company by repurchasing another $9 billion of its stock. Berkshire's fourth-quarter buybacks boosted the company's overall stock repurchases to $24.7 billion in 2020, five times the record from a year earlier, and Berkshire appears to have repurchased another $4 billion or more in 2021. "The math of repurchases grinds away slowly, but can be powerful over time," Buffett wrote in his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders.
- U.S.Associated Press
NYC rally condemns attacks on people of Asian descent
A crowd gathered in New York City on Saturday to denounce an uptick in attacks on people of Asian descent in the city and across the country. Hundreds of people rallied at Foley Square in lower Manhattan, not far from where an Asian man was critically injured Thursday in what police said was an unprovoked stabbing by another man who was charged with attempted murder. “It's really been terrifying for our community,” said Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director of the Asian American Federation, a New York-based advocacy group.
WorldThe TelegraphScottish Labour leadership hopefuls hit back against Tory claims of being soft on independence ahead of election result
Both Scottish Labour leadership hopefuls have hit back at the Tories for accusing them of being soft on independence as the party prepares to unveil its new leader on Saturday. During a speech announcing the Scottish Conservative Holyrood campaign message on Friday, party leader Douglas Ross accused both Anas Sarwar and Monica Lennon as being “fair weather” unionists and challenged them to rule out working with the SNP. Ms Lennon dismissed the comments as “desperate and attention-seeking nonsense”.
PoliticsThe IndependentRepublicans cite ‘public health emergency’ for skipping Covid relief votes while speaking at maskless CPAC
Several Republican lawmakers said they could not attend Congress on Friday to vote for the coronavirus stimulus package due to the pandemic, but were due to appear in-person at the conservative conference taking place in Orlando, Florida, this weekend. According to CNN, the Republican lawmakers included those who were former US president Donald Trump's closest allies - some of whom were scheduled to speak at this weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida. The group of twelve House Republicans said they were unable to attend a number of votes in the House of Representatives that day "due to the ongoing public health emergency”, in a written letter seen by CNN.
- PoliticsReuters Videos
Syria condemns 'cowardly' U.S. air strikes
PENTAGON CHIEF SPOKESMAN JOHN KIRBY: "The United States will act to protect American and coalition personnel and our security interests in the region." Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that the U.S. air strike carried out in Syria totally destroyed nine facilities used by Iranian-backed militias in the country, in Joe Biden's first known military action as president. KIRBY: "When we referred to the justification for the strikes, we talked about recent attacks.
WorldReutersU.S. calls on African Union to exert pressure over worsening crisis in Ethiopia's Tigray
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called on the African Union and other international partners to help address a deepening crisis in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region as he condemned alleged atrocities in fighting there. Blinken's statement suggested growing frustration with the response so far from Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea to what America's top diplomat described as a "worsening humanitarian crisis." His remarks came a day after Amnesty International released a report accusing Eritrean forces of killing hundreds of civilians in Tigray in a 24-hour period last year, an incident it described as a potential crime against humanity.
WorldAssociated PressExperts notice pandemic's mental health toll on German youth
Pollina Dinner returned to school in Berlin for the first time this week after two months of lockdown. The 9-year-old third-grader was thrilled to see her classmates and teachers again but frets about the coronavirus pandemic's effect on her life. Psychiatrists, psychologists and pediatricians in Germany have voiced growing alarm that school closings, social restrictions and other precautions are magnifying the fear, disruption and stress of the pandemic among Germany's 13.7 million children and teenagers, raising the prospect of a future mental health crisis.
U.S.INSIDERMinneapolis approved funding to hire social media influencers to spread information about ex cop Derek Chauvin's trial
Minneapolis city council approved funding to hire social media influencers for Derek Chauvin's trial, WCCO-TV reported. The influencers will be paid to provide the local community with information about the trial. Chauvin was charged in Floyd's death, and his trial is set to begin on March 8.
WorldReutersIran condemns U.S. strikes in Syria, denies attacks in Iraq
Iran on Saturday condemned U.S. air strikes against Iran-backed militias in Syria, and denied responsibility for rocket attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq that prompted Friday's strikes. Washington said its strikes on positions of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah paramilitary group along the Iraq border were in response to the rocket attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq. Western officials and some Iraqi officials have blamed those attacks on Iran-backed groups.
- WorldAssociated Press
Russian helicopter crash-lands in northern Syria, casualties
A Russian military helicopter made an emergency landing for technical reasons in northeast Syria on Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said. Syria's state media said there were casualties among the crew. Russia joined Syria's war in September 2015 and has since helped tip the balance of power in favor of President Bashar Assad's forces.
U.S.INSIDERThe California surgeon who dialed into a virtual court trial mid-operation is facing investigation
Dr. Scott Green is facing investigation after dialing into a virtual court trial while in the operating room. In a video of the trial posted to YouTube, Green can be seen in scrubs and a face mask — and at times bowing his head to tend to the patient. After the video went viral, a medical and licensing agency in California said it would investigate.
WorldAssociated PressPakistan expert: Religiosity aiding spike in militancy
Militant attacks are on the rise in Pakistan amid a growing religiosity that has brought greater intolerance, prompting one expert to voice concern the country could be overwhelmed by religious extremism. Pakistani authorities are embracing strengthening religious belief among the population to bring the country closer together. But it's doing just the opposite, creating intolerance and opening up space for a creeping resurgence in militancy, said Mohammad Amir Rana, executive director of the independent Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies.
PoliticsUSA TODAYSen. John Cornyn, Gov. Greg Abbott — but not Ted Cruz — to meet with Joe Biden in Texas
Two out of Texas' top three Republican officials will meet with President Joe Biden during his Friday trip to Houston following the state's winter storm and power outages last week. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, plan to join Biden and first lady Jill Biden as they survey storm and power grid damage, visit an emergency operations center and food bank and stop by NRG Stadium, a mass vaccination site. The state's other senator, Ted Cruz, won't be joining them.
PoliticsAssociated PressSupreme Court could put new limits on voting rights lawsuits
Eight years after carving the heart out of a landmark voting rights law, the Supreme Court is looking at putting new limits on efforts to combat racial discrimination in voting. The justices are taking up a case about Arizona restrictions on ballot collection and another policy that penalizes voters who cast ballots in the wrong precinct. The high court's consideration comes as Republican officials in the state and around the country have proposed more than 150 measures, following last year's elections, to restrict voting access that civil rights groups say would disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic voters.
PoliticsPoliticoFauci on CPAC speech: ‘I'm sure that you can get a standing ovation by saying I'm wrong’
Dr. Anthony Fauci on Sunday said South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's criticism of him at the Conservative Political Action Conference was “not really helpful” to the nation's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The remarks from President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser came after Noem, a Republican and an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, received a standing ovation on Saturday at the American Conservative Union's annual conference for rebuking Fauci's public health guidance. In her CPAC address, Noem boasted that her administration focused on hospital capacity rather than Covid-19 case numbers.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderGOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy said he'd bet his 'personal house' that Republicans will 'get the majority back' in 2022
Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Saturday said he'd bet his home on the odds that the GOP secures a majority in 2022. Democrats have a slim majority in the House. Republicans will need to flip five seats to regain control.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramThey spent days talking about Texas’ power crisis. Now here’s what lawmakers must do.
The first full week of assessment of Texas' massive electricity failure has yielded two accomplishments: It spread the blame and deepened the sense of how big a disaster it was. All-day House and Senate hearings Thursday and Friday have illustrated again the problems with the state's power grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. It took the most heat from lawmakers, but testimony demonstrated problems with every source of energy, the state's regulatory agencies and the Legislature itself.
HealthAssociated PressJ&J’s 1-dose shot cleared, giving US 3rd COVID-19 vaccine
The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two. Health experts are anxiously awaiting a one-and-done option to help speed vaccinations, as they race against a virus that already has killed more than 510,000 people in the U.S. and is mutating in increasingly worrisome ways. The FDA said J&J's vaccine offers strong protection against what matters most: serious illness, hospitalizations and death.
PoliticsAssociated PressBiden administration promises focus on environmental justice
When President Joe Biden made environmental protection a key element of his campaign, he promised to overhaul the federal office that investigates complaints from people in minority communities who believe they have been unfairly harmed by industrial pollution or waste disposal. Although the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges that disadvantaged communities in America are disproportionately affected by pollution, hundreds of complaints sent to its civil rights office since the mid-1990s have only once resulted in a formal finding of discrimination. The situation has provoked criticism from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, the EPA's own Office of Inspector General and citizens who have filed complaints that sometimes languished for years — or decades.
“How about we skip ‘he won’t win’ cycle and not do 2016 all over again. Trump can absolutely win another presidential election.”
“With independents deserting him, there is simply no path for Trump to get back into the White House — except as a tourist.”
“They might as well cancel the 2024 primaries...because there is no way he can lose.”
“The next Republican presidential primary will be heavily shaped by Trump — whether or not he decides to run again.”
“Donald Trump will not be running for president again. He will, however, continue to tease the possibility of a 2024 run.”