PoliticsYahoo NewsBiden celebrates infrastructure deal at White House
President Biden announced on Thursday that the White House and a group of bipartisan senators had reached a deal on a $579 billion infrastructure plan. “It's been a very long time since the last time our country was able to strike a major bipartisan deal on American infrastructure,” Biden said at the White House. Biden said he and congressional Democrats had to concede some on what's known as “human infrastructure,” such as investments for childcare and spending on climate change.
U.S.Yahoo NewsWhat to expect at Derek Chauvin's sentencing for the murder of George Floyd
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin will learn his prison sentence on Friday for the murder of George Floyd, a killing that sparked international protests over the treatment of Black Americans by law enforcement. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over Chauvin's murder trial, will hand down the sentence two months after a jury reached guilty verdicts on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's May 25, 2020, death. Video taken by a bystander of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck — depriving Floyd of oxygen — played a key role in helping the jury decide to convict the former officer.
WorldThe TelegraphPoland and Baltics block Merkel and Macron's push for talks with Putin
France and Germany's call for European Union summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin were blocked on Thursday night after fierce opposition from Poland and the Baltic countries. At a European Council meeting, EU leaders considered overhauling their foreign policy towards Moscow, a week after US President Joe Biden met Mr Putin in Geneva. Member states, especially those which border Russia, had been infuriated after Paris and Berlin blindsided them with a last minute proposal on Wednesday.
WorldAssociated PressIndonesian cleric gets 4 years for concealing COVID-19 test
An influential firebrand cleric was sentenced to another four years in prison in Indonesia on Thursday for concealing information about his coronavirus test result. The three-judge panel at East Jakarta District Court, which was under heavy police and military guard, ruled that Rizieq Shihab had lied about his COVID-19 test result, which made contact tracing more difficult. Shihab has been detained since Dec. 13.
U.S.The WeekAnthony Fauci was hosed down, naked, 'in what looked like a kiddy pool' after being mailed mysterious white powder
Last summer, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief Anthony Fauci was reportedly sent mail containing white powder that "literally blew up in his face," Politico writes, per a preview of the new book Nightmare Scenario by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta. Luckily, chemical testing came back negative for both anthrax and ricin, but not before Fauci was hosed "down to his skivvies in a chemical lab," standing "naked in what looked like a kiddy pool" while his team awaited results, per Politico. Previously reported excerpts of Nightmare Scenario revealed Trump once joked he hoped COVID-19 would "take out" former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and had even proposed the U.S. house COVID-19 patients at Guantanamo Bay.
WorldThe TelegraphLovestruck Pentagon translator who passed on secrets to Hizbollah jailed for 23 years
A lovestruck military translator has been jailed for 23 years for passing on the names of US informants to Hizbollah. Mariam Thompson, 62, admitted she had sent classified information to a man with ties to the Lebanese militant group. Prosecutors alleged Lebanese-born Thompson, who became a US citizen in 1993, had put the lives of US troops and sources at risk by passing on the material to a man she hoped would marry her.
U.S.Kansas City StarKansas City man gets life in prison for stabbing father to death: prosecutors
A Kansas City man convicted of stabbing his father to death three years ago was sentenced Thursday to a term of life in prison, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office. Curtis V. Lee, 43, was found guilty by a jury in April on charges of first degree murder and armed criminal action, court records show. Lee was arrested by Independence police in the early hours of April 18, 2018 in the 3500 block of South Lynn Court after officers responded to a residence and found Charles and Clyde Burton — Lee's uncle and father — stabbed to death.
WorldThe TelegraphChina's first Covid case could have been in October 2019, says UK study
The virus that causes Covid-19 could have started spreading in China as early as October 2019, two months before the first case was identified in the central city of Wuhan, a new study showed on Friday. Researchers from Britain's University of Kent used methods from conservation science to estimate that SARS-CoV-2 first appeared from October to mid-November 2019, according to a paper published in the PLOS Pathogens journal. The most likely date for the virus's emergence was November 17, 2019, and it had probably already spread globally by January 2020, they estimated.
PoliticsLA TimesColumn: Senior Democrats (75 and older) have a message for Feinstein and Breyer: It's time to go
Virtually all agreed it was time for Feinstein and Breyer to do the same — quit and relinquish their power — and each member of the Democrats of Rossmoor Club gave the same rationale: for the good of the country. "This is our opportunity," Karl Livengood, 82, said of Breyer stepping down, saying it would give President Biden the chance to name a younger successor who could serve a good deal longer on the court.
WorldBBCClimate change: Large-scale CO2 removal facility set for Scotland
A large facility capable of extracting significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the air is being planned for north east Scotland. The proposed plant would remove up to one million tonnes of CO2 every year - the same amount taken up by around 40 million trees. This Direct Air Capture (DAC) plan is a joint project between UK firm Storegga and Canadian company Carbon Engineering.
U.S.Fort Worth Star-TelegramU.S. Marshals arrest Royce Wood, suspected of shooting a Texas cop, in Arkansas
Royce Wood, the man accused of shooting a Rhome police officer June 13, was arrested without incident by the U.S. Marshals Service in Batesville, Arkansas, early Thursday morning, according to the Wise County Sheriff's Office. Wood and his girlfriend, Tiffany Caswell, were arrested together for separate charges against them in Wise County. Caswell and Wood are believed to have been involved in a home invasion robbery on Coyote Trail on June 12, Akin told the Wise County Messenger.
U.S.Miami Herald‘You don’t see buildings falling down in America.’ So why did Surfside tower crumble?
Recertification process was underway The recertification process mandates that, once a structure turns 40, its owners must hire a registered architect or professional engineer to do electrical and structural inspections within 90 days of receiving official notice from the town. If repairs are found to be necessary, the owner gets 150 days to complete them. The costs of repairs can be apportioned among the unit owners.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams the lack of diversity in an all-white group of lawmakers who drafted a bipartisan infrastructure deal
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the bipartisan group of lawmakers who negotiated an infrastructure deal. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that the group reached a deal. The New York lawmaker called out the group for its lack of diversity.
CelebrityBBCIndia's opinionated feminist and her viral wedding ad
Using the email address posted on the ad, the BBC managed to track down the "opinionated feminist" - Sakshi - and her brother Srijan and her best friend Damyanti, who came up with the idea. All the names are pseudonyms - they don't want their identities revealed since, as Sakshi said, "we are all professionals with steady careers, and (hopefully) promising lives ahead of us" and don't want to attract "bloodthirsty" social media trolls. The ad, Srijan said, was "a small prank we played for Sakshi's 30th birthday".
U.S.Raleigh News and ObserverLive updates Thursday: Murdaugh family to offer reward; Vehicle towed from crime scene
The Murdaugh family will soon be offering a $100,000 reward for information that will lead to an arrest and conviction in Paul and Maggie's murders, a Columbia lawyer told The State Media Co. and The Island Packet on Thursday. A local towing company owner also confirmed with The Island Packet that it towed a Chevrolet Suburban from the Murdaugh property to the Colleton County Sheriff's Office the morning after the killings. These are the latest developments as the June 7 double homicide investigation of Paul Murdaugh and his mother Maggie outside their home in Colleton County approaches its third week.
U.S.The StateLottery player settles for different NC ticket after favorite sold out. It paid off
A North Carolina woman won a top lottery price after settling for a different ticket. Joanne Pacheco bought the winning “7” scratch-off lottery ticket from the Lakeland St. Mini Mart in Durham over the weekend after the one she wanted to buy was sold out, according to the North Carolina Education Lottery. “They didn't have my tickets,” she told lottery officials.
U.S.Business InsiderA judge expressed skepticism about arguments from Mike Lindell, Sidney Powell, and Rudy Giuliani, who want Dominion's defamation lawsuits against them dismissed
A federal judge on Thursday weighed whether to dismiss Dominion's defamation lawsuits. Dominion is suing all three Trump allies over election conspiracy theories. A federal judge heard arguments Thursday over whether to allow multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuits from Dominion Voting Systems to proceed against Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
- NewsYahoo News Video
Biden on trusting Republicans on infrastructure: “I’ve worked with a lot of these who are people in the room. I know them.”
Delivering remarks after announcing a deal with a group of Republican senators on infrastructure, President Biden responded to a question about trusting Republicans on the agreement. Biden said, “I've worked with a lot of these people who are in the room. I know them.
WorldBBCCovid: How do you feel about going back to the office?
Firms which have had most of their staff working from home throughout the pandemic are beginning to share their plans for when coronavirus restrictions end. Almost all of 50 of the UK's biggest employers say they do not plan to bring staff back to the office full-time. However, Goldman Sachs has told its UK bankers they need to be ready to return to the office with boss David Solomon describing working from home as "an aberration".
U.S.The Daily BeastLord Ashcroft’s Daughter-in-Law Breaks Silence on Shooting of Belize Cop
The British billionaire's daughter-in-law who killed a top police officer in Belize is breaking her silence to tell the story of how she accidentally shot him—and how she is now locked in a battle to see her own children. “I feel like I'm living in a movie and I don't know what the endgame is,” Jasmine Hartin, the partner of Lord Michael Ashcroft, told the Daily Mail in her first interview since her arrest. Hartin is charged with manslaughter by negligence in the shooting death of Police Superintendent Henry Jemmott last month—a sensational case that has gripped the Central American country and made headlines around the world.
PoliticsUSA TODAY21 senators clinched infrastructure for Biden. Who's in the deal's bipartisan coalition?
After months of negotiations, President Joe Biden has reached a deal with a bipartisan group of senators on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package. In the East Room of the White House on Thursday, Biden declared “we have a deal" after a 30-minute meeting with the group of senators earlier in the day.. An initial round of negotiations with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., the lead GOP negotiator who is seen as closely aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., fell through early June over disagreements about how to finance the package and what counted as infrastructure.
WorldBusiness InsiderChinese authorities reportedly interrogated workers linked to US company Verité, which investigates supply-chain labor abuses in the country
Workers linked to a US company were interrogated by Chinese officials in April, sources told Axios. The workers were linked to nonprofit Verité, which investigates labor abuses in global supply chains. The State Department said it was "deeply concerned" by the reports.
WorldINSIDERChina lashes out at western countries like the US and UK for 'violations of the rights of refugees and migrants' at the UN Human Rights Council
China has been crossing swords with the West for the last three days at the UN Human Rights Council. China said that the US, UK, Australia, and Canada have records of human rights violations. The day before, more than 40 countries expressed "serious concerns" about China's policies in Xinjiang.
U.S.INSIDERAn ex-NRA president spoke at a fake high school graduation where the empty seats represented students killed by gun violence
A former NRA president was invited to speak at a fake high school graduation in Las Vegas. The 3,044 empty chairs in the stadium symbolized high school seniors who were killed by gun violence. The stunt was orchestrated by Manuel and Patricia Oliver, whose son died in the 2018 Parkland shooting.
U.S.Business InsiderA Florida pastor and his son were arrested in connection with the Capitol riot after a congregant gave them up
A father and son pastor duo are the most recent accused Capitol rioters to be arrested and charged over their participation in the January 6 insurrection. James "Jim" Varnell Cusick, 72, and his son Casey Cusick, 35, who both serve as pastors at Global Outreach Church of Melbourne in Melbourne, Florida, as well as a member of their congregation, were arrested on Thursday, according to charging documents. In January, the FBI received an anonymous tip that James was inside the Capitol rotunda during the Capitol attack, prosecutors said.
“The pandemic has unequivocally proven the public health value of masks. And they should stick around in certain situations.”
“With the steady thrum of anti-mask sentiment in the U.S., it’s highly unlikely that they will continue to be a ubiquitous sight.”
“Wearing masks on airplanes or other modes of transit ... can help keep everyone safe.”
“Just because masks are common in many other nations ... is hardly a reason to emulate the practice.”
“The fact that the flu all but vanished ... is not evidence alone that masks were responsible.”